PSA Introduces New $59.99 Standard Grading Tier as It Begins Reopening Services

PSA is adding a new grading option for collectors as it begins the process of reopening service levels following this year’s huge surge in submissions. Beginning September 14, PSA will offer a new Standard service level priced at $59.99 per card. The tier comes with an estimated turnaround time of 90 to 100 business days and a maximum insured value of $1,000 per card.

PSA says Standard is intended to give collectors a lower-priced option that falls between the company’s currently available higher-end services and its Value tiers, which remain temporarily paused. Importantly, Standard is not replacing Value. PSA says it plans to bring its Value services back as capacity allows, with the new tier serving as an early step in that process. Standard submissions will also be processed after the Value and Bulk orders already in PSA’s system.

The move comes after an unusually busy year for the grading company. PSA temporarily stopped accepting new submissions for its Value Bulk, Value, Value Plus and Value Max tiers in June after a sharp increase in demand pushed its active backlog toward 10 million collectibles. At the time, PSA said submissions had jumped 20% following earlier service updates, adding roughly 1.6 million items to the queue.

That backlog later climbed even higher before beginning to come down. PSA said September 8 that its active global backlog had fallen to approximately 9.9 million items. The new Standard tier gives collectors another option without fully reopening the lowest-priced grading levels and potentially creating another sudden rush of submissions.

PSA President Ryan Hoge said the company continues to see record throughput while investing in additional grading capacity. PSA says its global production is now 40% higher than last year, helped by a $200 million infrastructure investment announced in May.

There are several other changes coming along with Standard. PSA’s Regular service is being renamed Priority. The $79.99-per-card tier carries an estimated turnaround time of 70 to 80 business days and a maximum insured value of $1,500. Walk-Through is being renamed Premier and will cost $599 per card, with a seven- to 10-business-day estimated turnaround and a $10,000 maximum insured value.

PSA is also increasing the price of Express service to $199 per card. The company says demand for that tier has grown faster than its specialized grading capacity and that the price change is intended to help maintain an estimated turnaround of 20 to 30 business days. Express continues to have a maximum insured value of $2,500. Existing orders will not be affected by the changes.

The September announcement is also a major expansion for collectors in Europe. Starting September 15, collectors throughout the European Union will be able to submit directly to PSA’s Frankfurt facility for local grading. PSA says the location will offer all of its globally available service levels for cards, autographed cards, tickets and packs, reducing the need for European collectors to ship submissions internationally.

With Frankfurt coming online, PSA says it now has six grading facilities around the world. Its newer Plano, Texas, facility, which opened in July, is also operating as a full grading location.